


Doing What’s Best for...

by 0JokingAround



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Crying, Developing Friendships, Disordered Eating, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Papyrus Has Issues, Papyrus Needs A Hug, Papyrus-centric, Sad Papyrus, Serious Papyrus, Tired Papyrus, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, conflicting emotions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 07:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13876296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0JokingAround/pseuds/0JokingAround
Summary: He didn’t like it, and really didn’t want it to come to this, but it had to be done.He didn’t want to do this anymore.





	1. Tired

**Author's Note:**

> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus- Normal  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge- ALL CAPS  
> Swapfell Papyrus- Slim- lower case

He was honestly tired of this. It felt like a constant routine he had to go through almost every single time they visited him.

Why couldn’t they just...get along?

Were they even trying?

He knew the two were very different from each other, but so was he! Yet he got along with them just fine! So why couldn’t the two of them get along with each other like he did with them?

It made no sense.

Did they consider each other as friends?

Did they even like each other?

He knew friends couldn’t always agree on the same thing, and argue at times but...this was just ridiculous.

He doesn’t even know what they were fighting about!

He just left the room for 5 minutes to get them some snacks and what does he come back to? A living room with two skeletons yelling and cursing at each other.

And a shattered vase.

And a broken table.

And with the way they were trying to fight each other on his couch, he wouldn’t be surprised if they somehow broke that to-

*Riiiiip*

And there goes the couch.

*Thud*

Papyrus watched unamused as his two friends tried to strangle one another on his carpeted floor. He sighed tiredly and put down the tray of snacks on the small table, that was miraculously still intact, besides the now ripped up couch.

"Get out."

He was surprised that his voice was loud enough to get their attention, and even more surprised how stern he sounded.

The wide eyed skeletons looked at him for a good few seconds before blinking and opening their mouths to say something, but Papyrus wasn’t having it.

He had enough of this.

He was done.

"I am not going to repeat myself. Get. Out."

He slightly startled himself when he growled the last two words out, but shook his head and made his way towards the closet to grab a broom and a dust pan.

He had a lot of cleaning up to do.

Wouldn’t be the first time his friends made a mess of things in this house, but hopefully this would be the last. If they ever learned.

He hoped they will...and soon.

He didn’t know how much more of their constant fighting he could take.

He sighed to himself as he closed the closet door and walked up to the shattered vase. Before he could even begin the cleaning process, he felt a pair of hands trying to grab his broom and dust pan out of his own.

"h-here, let me help you with tha-

"Don’t bother."

His voice came out a bit more harsher than he wanted it too, but it was enough to make Slim flinch and back off.

Papyrus glared at him for a few more seconds, before Slim avoided his eye sockets. The hoodie wearing skeleton shoved his hands nervously into his pockets and stared at the shattered glass covered floor uncomfortably.

"I’LL PAY FOR ALL THE DAMAGE-"

"Save it."

His words came out just as harsh as the last one, and just as effective. Edge winced at his response and avoided his glare, finding the wall to be quite interesting at the moment.

As he started to clean up the shatter remains of his vase, he made up his mind on this whole situation. He didn’t like it, and really didn’t want it to come to this, but it had to be done.

He didn’t want to do this anymore.

He couldn’t take this repetitive violence any longer.

He didn’t want to.

He couldn’t.

He was too tired.

He couldn’t take their never ending battle with each other anymore.

He didn’t want to deal with their problems and suffer the consequences for it.

He was tired of trying to help them.

He was tired of putting up with them.

He was tired of...them.

He couldn’t be friends with them anymore.

He has to end his friendship with the both of them.

It was for the best...for him.


	2. Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He couldn’t stand to see his little bro like this.
> 
> They needed to talk about this.
> 
> Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underfell Sans- Red- lowercase  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge- ALL CAPS  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus- Normal

Red couldn’t take this anymore. It’s only been a week, but his little bro has already changed so much since then.

And not the good kind of change.

When his little bro told him that Papyurs was no longer his friend, he thought maybe the two just had a small disagreement or something and his little bro was just exaggerating. It was when he called Papyrus to ask if that was the case, he almost dropped his phone at the response he got in return.

"I’m sorry, Red, but Edge isn’t exaggerating. I...I really don’t want to be his friend anymore. I hope we can still be friends, though."

He reassured Papyrus that he was still his friend, even if his brother wasn’t anymore. While Papyrus explained to him the situation and how he felt about it, Red was quite shocked. The fighting between his little brother and Slim was nothing new. The two making a mess at the Tale’s House was also nothing new. What really shocked him was the fact that Papyrus was the one who had decided to end their friendship.

Papyrus, of all skeletons.

As he finished up his conversation with Papyrus, he placed his phone on the conter and rubbed his temple.

‘damn,’ Red thought, ’didn’t think paps had a limit. looks like you pushed passed his limit, bro.’

He tried talking to his little brother about it, but Edge would always just scoff at him and say things like:

"WHO NEEDS HIM ANYWAY? I SURE AS HELL DON’T!"

"I CAN ALWAYS MAKE NEW FRIENDS, RED. BETTER AND MUCH MORE COOLER FRIENDS THAN PAPYRUS COULD EVER BE!"

"HE’S JUST BEING A BIG BABY, BROTHER. SOON, HE’LL REALIZE JUST HOW VALUABLE OF A FRIEND I AM TO HIM AND COME RUNNING BACK TO ME! BEGGING ME TO BE HIS FRIEND AGAIN."

"I DON’T EVEN CARE. FUCK HIM."

Red knew better.

He knew nothing that came out of Edge’s mouth was true, but he shrugged whenever he got those responses and went on with his life. The next day, Red noticed his brother’s temper was a lot more sour than usual. He would snap at him for every little thing, and sometimes even snap at himself if he made a mistake or something. Speaking of mistakes, that was also something his brother was making a lot over the past few days. His brother was really clumsy now, which was something he never thought he would ever see, but he now he has...and it was not as funny as he thought it would be.

It was sad.

Edge would get cuts, scrapes, and bruises from his clumsiness. Sometimes his brother would fall and just lay there for a good few seconds, before getting up and yell angrily at himself or whatever made him trip in the first place. Other times he would just sigh and get back up before falling again and stare into space for another few seconds.

His brother just looked so...lost.

And now it’s been a week, and as he looked at his little brother curled in a ball in his bed, he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

He couldn’t stand to see his little bro like this.

They needed to talk about this.

Now.

"you’ve been nothing but a two left feet asshole lately."

Edge turned away from him, still hugging his knees close to his chest."FUCK OFF."

"get out of that bed, so we can talk."

"WE ARE TALKING."

"i wanna talk to you outside! you haven’t gotten out of your room in two days, edge!"

"THE WEATHER HAS BEEN AWFUL!"

"it’s been nothing but clear skies this whole week!"

"WELL-"Whatever Edge was going to say was, it was quickly interrupted by a low grumbling noise. Red heard it and saw Edge tense and hug himself tighter. Red took a step closer to the bed and glared at the back of his little brother’s head.

"when’s the last time you’ve eaten?"

"NONE OF YOU’RE BUSINESS."

"it is my business!"Red yelled and felt his magic flaring up in his eye socket."everything that has to do with you is my business! you’re my little brother, and i’ll be damned as your big brother if I let you starve yourself just because you lost a-"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Edge finally turned to him, shaking and growling. Red couldn’t help but stare at his tear stained face. His little brother looked absolutely miserable, especially with those bags under his eyes. Red sighed and looked at him with a sympathetic look.

"edge..."

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM! GET OUT!"

"bro..."

"JUST FUCK OFF-"Edge suddenly found his words muffled in his brother’s leather jacket, and a pair of arms wrapping around his shaking form. One hand gently patted his back, while the other gently rubbed his skull in soothing circles.

"it’s okay to lose a friend, little brother these things happen. it’s okay to miss them too, it’s not uncommon. and it’s definitely okay to cry about it."

As soon as he said those words, he felt Edge’s body shake more violently as he let out a pitiful sob. He pushed Edge’s limit.

The push he needed to let it all out.

"I MISS H-HIM, RED. I-I MISS HIM. I WANT M-MY FRIEND BACK! I NEED HIM!"

"you’ll be friends again, bro. don’t worry."

"B-BUT PAPYRUS SAID-"

"he doesn’t want to be friends anymore, i know. but maybe it was all talk. maybe he misses you just as much as you miss him right now, maybe even more!"

Edge sniffles and looks at Red with a sad, but hopeful glint in his eye sockets."R-REALLY?"

Red looked at him for a moment, seeing Edge as a little baby bones again, before smiling a bit and giving him a small kiss on the top of his skull."really. look, why don’t I get you something to eat. Then, try to get some rest afterwards, while I talk to paps for you, okay?"

Edge nodded, and as Red tucked him in and closed the door behind him, he sighed and slid down the door, feeling emotionally exhausted.

‘i hope it was just all talk...for my little brother’s sake.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DominionHiyokiHanatsuki- Thank you! I think Papyrus appreciates a whole lotta hugs.
> 
> Dragonsrule18- If only it were that easy...
> 
> Sora_Tayuya- The idea of Papyrus being put into a situation where he has to make a hard decision and stand up for himself with that decision intrigues me. This story is kind of testing out that idea.
> 
> Thanks to all who read, comment, and give out kudos to this story.


	3. Breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Razz stopped and stood right in front of him, still not knowing what to say, and took a moment to take a breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swapfell Sans- Razz- Normal  
> Swapfell Papyrus- Slim- lowercase

Razz often thought of himself to be pretty great and magnificent at...well, pretty much everything.

Comforting is not one of them.

He looked at the lump on the couch that was his miserable brother and sighed. What the hell was he supposed to do? Talk? His brother clearly didn’t want to talk about the incident. Ever since he came back to their house from the Tale’s house his brother has not stepped foot out of it. It’s been a week since he’s been outside at all.

A whole damn week since his brother decided to punish himself for what he’s done to Papyrus.

Razz would’ve been a bit proud of his brother for taking responsibility for his actions...if his punishment wasn’t so unhealthy. Couldn’t his brother punish himself by doing more chores around the house or something?

Razz slowly approaches the middle of the living room and stands in front of the TV. He crosses his arms and glares slightly at Slim, who didn’t react to his presence or say a word about it. Razz looked at Slim’s eye sockets and noticed the bags under his eyes, and now that he takes a good look at him, he looks a bit more...thinner than usual. He made a mental note to cook his brother’s favorite meal later on, and make lots of it, too.

Turning around, he turned off the TV and made his way towards his brother. Slim looked down, refusing to look at his little brother and fiddled with his fingers inside his hoodie pockets. Razz stopped and stood right in front of him, still not knowing what to say, and took a moment to take a breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

He decided to sit next to him and stare at his own hands, that were now tugging at a loose string at the end of his scarf. Honestly, he felt conflicted about the whole situation. As much as he wanted to be angry at Papyrus for doing this to his brother...he couldn’t. Papyrus made a decision that he himself would have made too if he was put into a situation like that. If he had friends that were making his life a bit too difficult, he wouldn’t want them in his life either.

Razz sighed again."Is part of your punishment dieting and not taking any naps?"He tried to say in a half serious, half joking manner. There was nothing funny about this whole thing, but dammit, he was trying to light up the mood somehow. At least he was trying!

He looked at his brother for a response, but Slim stayed silent. Razz could see his question made him nervous though as Slim’s body shook slightly. Razz frowned.

"When is your punishment over?"

It took a few moments, but Slim finally answers,"...when papyrus forgives me."He says in a trembling whisper.

"And if he doesn’t?"

Razz’s eye sockets widened as he realized what he just said.

Shit.

His brother suddenly hunched over, elbows on his knees and hands on his face, sobbing as quietly as he could while his body shook violently.

Razz clenched his fists and he started to feel his magic stir in anger at himself. He was just making things worse!

"i...i don’t k-know. i don’t know what i’d do if...if he never forgives m-me, razz.

"Brother..."

"i didn’t mean to cause h-him any trouble...i d-didn’t know i bothered h-him so much...

"Brother, listen-"

"i deserve to be punished more. I deserve to be-"

"Shut up!"Razz yelled, startling Slim, and glares at him angrily.

"I’ve had just about enough of your own punishment! Avoiding everyone and refusing to talk anyone is not a punishment, it’s just unhealthy!"

"i-if i don’t talk, then there’s no chance of me getting into an argument with anyone, and if i keep my distance from everyone, then i w-won’t get into fights."

"So you think starving and isolating yourself from everyone is the solution?!"

Slim laid back and slumped on the couch, sighing and letting his tears flow down his face. He stared at the blank screen for a moment, before glancing at his brother sadly."i’m not causing any trouble."

"Yes you are! You’re causing trouble for yourself and...and me."Razz said and looked away.

Slim looked surprised for a few seconds, before he sat up and wrapped his arms around Razz. He buried his head in his brother’s scarf, wetting the fabric a little which made Razz grimace but didn’t say anything about it."i’m sorry, brother. i didn’t mean to worry you."

Razz, not used to physical contact of the comfort kind, hesitantly hugged back and awkwardly patted him on his head."I know. You can make it up to me by eating some food and take a nap afterwards."He said as he released himself from the hug."Go to your room, I’ll make your favorite and bring it to you."

Slim nodded and did as he was told. As he made his way off the couch and up the stairs, Razz walked towards the kitchen. Before the short skeleton entered the kitchen, however, he paused and took a deep breath.

Inhale.

"I’ll talk to Papyrus for you. I’ll make sure he’s your friend again."The sound of footsteps stopped, and a few seconds went by before Razz heard his brother thank him in a soft voice.

He heard his brother’s footsteps continue up the stairs.

Exhale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DominionHiyokiHanatsuki- Thanks! Go easy on Edge though, show some mercy!
> 
> Dragonsrule18- Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? Only time(when I have it) will tell
> 
> Thanks to all who read, comment, and give out kudos to this story.


	4. Hated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On one of the days during the week, he found himself wondering if his life would’ve been better without ever meeting the two in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus- Normal  
> Undertale Sans- Sans- lowercase  
> Underfell Sans- Red- lowercase bold  
> Swapfell Sans- Razz- Underline

As soon as he closed the door, he turned around and slid down against it. He wrapped his arms around his knees and pulled them close to his chest. A choked sob escaped him for a brief second, before he buried his head in his knees and cried his soul out. He couldn’t believe that he actually managed to talk to Red and Razz without breaking down. The ache in his soul only grew the longer he talked to them, and at one point in their conversation, he thought his soul was going to burst right out of his ribcage.

"Red, Razz...I’m sorry, but I can’t. I just can’t be their friend anymore. I’m...I’m tired of it."

He didn’t regret his decision. He really didn’t.

"If we’re friends again, things are just going to be the same. They’re not going to change. They’re always going to fight, and I’m always going to be the one to pay for it."

For the first time in a long while, he didn’t have to worry about anything. He didn’t need to worry about his house getting destroyed. He didn’t have to worry about himself getting hurt if a fight got way too out of hand. He didn’t have to worry about two skeletons causing him too much trouble or hurting each other.

"I always forgave them. Always. But they always take advantage of my forgiveness. They always take advantage of me. Well, guess what? I’m done with being taken advantage of. I’m tired of giving them chances. I’ve given them so many, and for what? All it’s ever given me is false hope for a change."

It’s only been a week, but it felt his life was already a whole lot brighter. He made a bunch of new friends. He discovered new places around town that he loved to go to in his free time. He tried new things he never had a chance to experience before and had a blast. He received a promotion from his job and even earned employee of the month. He even learned new things about himself that he never knew before and felt like he grew as monster.

"This week, wowie...this week was just amazing. Everything was just...different, and new, and exciting, and so much more better. I feel better. I feel greater than I have ever been for awhile now and...and I don’t want this feeling to stop. I want it to keep going."

He didn’t think his life would change so much in a week, and for a brief moment, he wished he would’ve ended his friendship with Edge and Slim a long time ago if life was this good without them.

"...I’m sorry, Red. I’m sorry, Razz."

On one of the days during the week, he found himself wondering if his life would’ve been better without ever meeting the two in the first place.

"But I think this is for the best."

And he hated it. He hated how he wished for such a thing. He hated the mere thought of never meeting them.

**"paps, please. you have no idea what you mean to my brother.”**

He hated how great his life was going without them.

"My brother doesn’t know what to do with himself, Papyrus. He’s completely lost without you."

He hated how he was hurting them.

"...I’m...I’m sorry to hear that, but if I really meant anything to your brothers....then none of this would’ve ever happen. Did they really think that their actions wouldn’t have had any consequences?"

He hated how he missed them.

"...Look, maybe someday we’ll be friends again. But for now, they’re just...acquaintances to me, okay?"

  
But what he hated the most out of this whole situation, was how selfish he felt. Because despite everything that he hated about his decision, he still didn’t regret making it. He couldn’t deny the fact that his life was great now because of his decision. Now that they were out of the picture, his life just kept getting better and better each day. He’s really happy with the way things are going now...and he didn’t want to put a stop to it just because of them.

"Just...Just tell them to leave me alone...alright?"

He was not going to let them make his life harder. Not anymore.

"I don’t want to hear their apologies, or their excuses. It’s always the same story. They’re always full of empty promises."

He was not going to let them get to him.

"They should’ve known better."

No matter how much he hated himself for being so selfish. No matter how much he hated knowing that while his life was going great, his...acquaintances’ lives were miserable, and to an extent, their brothers were too. No matter how much his soul burned with guilt and pity, he was not going to let them get the best of him.

"And I hope they do learn something from all of this. I hope they change for the better and...and I hope we can become friends again one day. Until then, I want nothing to do with them. I hope you two understand my decision, and I hope this doesn’t put a strain in our friendship."

He was done.

"Have a nice day you two."

As he replayed the conversation in his head, his soul felt numb. Dry streaks of tears painted his cheekbones, and a headache was starting to come along. When he heard the creaking of the wooden floors upstairs, he raised his head and saw his brother, Sans. His brother gave him a sympathetic look, before walking down the stairs and slowly approaching him. Sans hugged him, and Papyrus returned the hug, sniffling in the crook of his brothers neck as he tried to think of anyone but Edge and Slim at the moment.

"i’m doing what’s best."

He couldn’t, and he had no one else but himself to blame for that. He knew he didn’t like the decision before, but he knew it had to be done. He didn’t know his decision was going to take him so far in life in such a small period of time, and for that he didn’t regret it. He didn’t know how much of an impact his decision was going to have on Edge and Slim, but now that he does...

"i know, bro."

He hated himself.

"...i know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> badgertablet- Thanks! And yeah, Razz needs to work on his comforting skills, but he does try and sometimes that’s goods enough...sometimes.
> 
> GriiffinWrites- Funny how you call Papyrus a savage, ironic even because of why he made his decision in the first place. Thanks by the way and stay healthy too!
> 
> Stempix- THANK YOU READER FOR YOUR CONPLIMENTS AND ENCOURAGEMENT!!! (AND TRY TO PUT YOUR WORDS IN ONE COMMENT NEXT TIME PLEASE, DON’T WANT TO MISTAKE YOU AS SPAM.)
> 
> carolc24- Honestly, the reason why I wasn’t going to put disordered eating was because I didn’t know that was a thing that existed!(I thought you meant eating disorder, which I wasn't trying to imply Edge and Slim had one or going to develope one, it was more of a temporary phase, but then I looked it up and disordered eating is actually it’s own thing! It’s different from an eating disorder in some areas, and it fits Edge and Slim perfectly! So thank you for that!
> 
> DominionHiyokiHanatsuki- Thank you! And why do I get the feeling Edge isn’t going to get any slack from you?...
> 
> Dragonsrule18- Thanks! And uh...  
> “I hope Papyrus isn't made to feel so guilty that he takes it out on himself”  
> ....Yeah, sorry about that.
> 
> Thanks to all who read, comment, and give out kudos to this story.
> 
> Also, if there are any tags that you feel that this story should have, such as warnings and such, please feel free to say so in the comments below.


	5. Touché

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Underfell Sans- Red-lower case bold  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge- ALL CAPS  
> Swapfell Sans- Razz- Normal  
> Swapfell Papyrus- Slim- lowercase
> 
> Mentioned characters:  
> Underswap Sans- Berry  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch

"YOU LOOK LIKE SHIT."

"look who’s talkin."

"Will you two at least try to get along?!" Razz yelled at the two taller skeletons in the room. Edge scoffed and crossed his arms, looking at his Razz with disinterest. Slim shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket and stared at the floor, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else than where he was now.

Red sighed and rubbed a hand down his face tiredly. **"not even a minute, and you two are already throwing insults at each other."**

Razz nodded and placed both of his hands on his hips. "Papyrus needs to see that you two can get along with each other. To be Papyrus’ friend again, you two need to become friends!"

**"i thought you two were friends, what the hell happened?"**

Slim snorted with a roll of his eye lights. "we were never friends, red. we just tried to tolerate each other for everyone’s sake."

"UNFORTUNATELY, SLIM HAS THE TOLERANCE OF A DAMN CHILD AND NO SELF-CONTROL WHATSOEVER."

"says the one who looks like they’re ready to go trick or treating everyday."

"MY BATTLE ARMOR IS NOT A HALLOWEEN COSTUME!"

"oh, what’s that i hear? someone losing their self-control?"

"YOU’LL BE LOSING A BONE OR TWO IF YOU DON’T SHUT THE-"

 **"enough!"** Red yelled angrily at the two, **"for fucks sake, do either of you want papyrus’ forgiveness or not?"**

"OF COURSE I DO, BROTHER! IT’S SLIM THAT’S NOT PUTTING ENOUGH EFFORT, LIKE ALWAYS."

"literally the first thing that you said to me just moments ago when we haven’t seen each other in almost two weeks now is that i look like shit!"

"FRIENDS ARE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER, AREN'T THEY?" Edge said with smug smirk on his face, "I WAS SIMPLY TELLING YOU THE TRUTH, LIKE THE GOOD FRIEND I’M TRYING TO BE."

"oh yeah? well, if your trying to be a good friend, then you’ll have no problem answering me this truthfully, edge. how’s it feel to have a stick up your ass every single day? honestly, i’m dying to know!"

"AT LEAST I’M NOT A STICK IN THE MUD LIKE YOU, YOU LAZY FUCK!"

*Ding!

*Ding!

Edge and Slim gasped simultaneously as their souls turned blue. They tried to turn their heads to their brother, but neither of them could move a single inch of their bodies.

**"you two are hopeless! shit, no wonder papyrus wants nothing to do with you two. i’d be pissed too if i heard arguing like this on a daily basis!"**

"I can’t believe that we’re even trying to help you two. Clearly, none of you care enough about Papyrus if you’re not willing to put the time and effort into getting along!"

Red let go of Edge’s soul before walking towards the Razz. He placed a hand on Razz’s shoulder, who let go of Slim’s soul, and glared at the two.

**"papyrus would be so ashamed of you two."**

Razz nodded, glaring at them as well. "And to think I felt sorry for either of you. Now I feel sorry for all the times Papyrus had to put up with you two."

**"let’s go, razz. we can’t help them if they don’t want help."**

"Teleport us out of here already."

Edge and Slim stared in shock as they watched Red teleport himself and Razz out of the room. They couldn’t believe that they’re own brothers gave up on them. The two stood in bewilderment, none of them saying to a word to each other for a few moments before Edge growled and broke the silence.

"FIRST PAPYRUS, AND NOW YOUR BROTHER WHO I ACTUALLY CONSIDER AS A FRIEND, AND MY OWN BROTHER...?" he said as he clenched his fists in anger. "WHO ELSE AM I GOING TO LOSE?!"

"you think you’re the only one? i don’t wanna lose anyone either, you asshole!"

"THEN WHY DON’T YOU TRY TO GET ALONG WITH ME? WHY DO YOU CONSTANTLY HAVE TO BE SUCH AN ANNOYING PRICK?!"

"i could ask you the same damn question, you dick! why do you constantly want to pick a fight with me, huh?"

"WANT TO? YOU THINK I LIKE WASTING MY TIME, ENERGY, AND BREATHE ON YOU? YOU’RE NOT EVEN A WORTHY ADVERSARY."

"then why?! why can’t you just ignore me, or tolerate me like you used to?"

"WHY DON’T YOU? I CAN ONLY HAVE SO MUCH PATIENCE WITH SOMEONE LIKE YOU, WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE?"

"it’s hard to ignore someone like you who’s a constant pain in the ass, much less tolerate all your bullshit!"

The two growled in unison, their magic sparking in their eye sockets as they glared at each other furiously. They both got into a fighting stance, hands blazing with magic and ready to fire at the other.

"I GIVE PAPYRUS A LOT OF CREDIT FOR PUTTING UP WITH FILTH LIKE YOU FOR SO LONG."

"he has all my respect for giving a scumbag like you a chance."

"HE GAVE ME A CHANCE BECAUSE HE SAW SOMETHING MORE IN ME!"

"me too!"

The two looked at each other in shock, magic from their eye sockets and hands dissipating slowly.

"WHAT...WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" Edge asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"he said there was more to me than just my scars." Slim said a bit uncomfortably. The only one he’s ever told that was his own brother, no one else.

"...SAME HERE." Edge admitted, but not without hesitation. Only his brother knew what Papyrus told him long ago.

Their magic finally settled down and was gone the next moment. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them know what to do or say next. Slim was the first to make a move, and sit cross legged on the floor, hands reaching his hoodie pockets to rest there. Edge looked at their surroundings, which was his brother’s lab in the basement, and saw a chair by one of the desks. Unfortunately, it was worn out and looked ready to break if he even touched it. With a sigh, he sat hesitantly on the cold floor across Slim. He sat cross legged as well, and resting his hands on his knees, scratching the fabric of his pants lightly.

They were a few inches away from each other, eyes never leaving the other as silence fell upon them. This time, it was Slim who broke the silence after a few seconds passed by.

"did he...ever tell you that just because you come from a bad place, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad guy?"

Edge nodded. "HE ALSO TOLD ME THAT JUST BECAUSE I’VE DONE BAD THINGS, THAT DOESN’T MAKE ME A BAD GUY."

"yeah...he said that to me too."

"HE DOESN’T BLAME ME FOR ALL MY SINS."

"he doesn’t think any less of me for all my wrongdoings."

"HE SEES THE GOOD IN ME/ he sees the good in me." The two said in unison, causing them to look at each other in surprise before laughing a bit. When their laughter died down, they looked away from each other, feeling awkward about the sudden change between them.

"I...GUESS I CAN SEE WHY HE PUTS UP WITH YOU."

"yeah, i...suppose i see why he gave you a chance."

They glanced at one another, before sighing and fully facing each other again.

"papyrus gave us both a chance, when no one else would, besides our own brothers of course. heck, even berry and stretch were cautious around us at first."

"PAPYRUS WASN’T CAUTIOUS FOR A SECOND. HE DIDN’T HESITATE AT ALL TO TRY AND BEFRIEND US, DESPITE HOW MEAN WE WERE TO HIM AT FIRST."

"mean is an understatement. i was an absolute jackass to him when i first met him."

"I THINK I THREATENED TO BREAK HIS BONES INTO DUST WHEN I FIRST MET HIM."

Slim snorted. "told ya you were an asshole."

Edge smirked at him almost mockingly. "TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE."

"touché."

A moment of silence passed between them. A feeling of empathy shared amongst one another as they stood up and gave each other a small smile. Edge extended his hand out to Slim. Slim took it without a second thought, and they both shook hands.

"MY NAME IS EDGE. I AM GREAT AT MANY THINGS, TALENTED IN THE CULINARY ARTS, AND APPARENTLY I HAVE A STICK UP MY ASS 24/7."

Slim chuckled. "my name is slim, the pun-loving skeleton. i’m laid-back, funny, and a big stick in the mud."

Edge smirked. "YOUR COMEDY IS DEBATABLE."

"your cooking is debatable." Slim shot back with a smirk of his own.

"TOUCHÉ."

* * *

 

Meanwhile in Red and Edge’s living room, two short skeletons were sitting on the couch watching a video on Red’s laptop.

**"see? told you my plan would work. they just needed a little push, a bit of tough love, some alone time, and boom. now they're on their way to friendship town. next stop, the city of forgiveness, population papyrus."**

"Ugh, that last part wasn’t even a pun and it was still terrible. I can’t even tell if you were trying to be funny or not. But I’ll give credit where credit is due, that was pretty clever of you to install hidden camera’s in your lab so that we could monitor them, but how did you know they weren’t going to kill each other?"

**"i didn’t, but i thought it was worth the risk and it was. so, no harm done."**

"So there was a possibility that we could’ve both lost a brother today..."

 **"...hey, uh, lets go down there and tell them that we would never give up on them and it was all part of the plan!"** Red said with a nervous smile and chuckle.

Razz sighed. "You’re going to be the death of me someday...I just know it."

**"hey, at least now my brother and yours now have a chance in making things right with paps again.”**

"I hope you’re right because if not..."

**"we’re not kidnapping papyrus and forcing him to forgive our bro’s."**

Razz clicked his to ecto-tongue. "Well, if you want to do it the hard way, then fine, we’ll let them handle the rest of their situation by themselves."

 **"i hope it all works out for the best for them."** Red said with a small smile even though there was a hint of worry in his voice.

Razz nodded, putting up a serious face despite nervously playing with the ends of his scarf. "Yeah, hopefully."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DominionHiyokiHanatsuki- Well, thanks to you, Sans won’t stop hugging Papyrus now. Also, don’t slap the numbskulls please. Edge and Slim are tough but they can also be fragile, so show them some mercy!
> 
> Dragonsrule18- Choices had to be made, unfortunately for Papyrus there were some consequences to it. Hopefully, this chapter makes you feel a bit better for Edge and Slim.
> 
> carolc24- No problem! And thanks once again about that tag!
> 
> Thanks to all who read, comment, and give out kudos to this story.
> 
> Also, if there are any tags that you feel that this story should have, such as warnings and such, please feel free to say so in the comments below.


	6. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No. No, this had to be some kind of nightmare. It was some sort of sick nightmare. He must still be unconscious right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus- Normal  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge- ALL CAPS  
> Swapfell Papyrus- Slim- lower case

Why did he answer the door? He knew who it was. They texted him that they’d come over to visit, which he ignored, and resumed to do some cleaning around the house. He made a mental note to himself to ask Sans how to block their numbers. Papyrus was surprised with himself that he hadn’t thought of that sooner.

Maybe if he did they’d finally take a hint.

Papyrus sighed. "Did your brother’s not tell you what I’ve told them to tell you?" He ignored the pang of hurt he felt when he saw their faces. They looked guilty, but tried to mask it with either a smile or a neutral expression. It didn’t work. To Papyrus, they were like an open book. It took some time, but he could read all their pages and life stories.

There was no expression they could hide from him. No secrets. No lies.

"um..y-yeah, that’s...kind of why we’re here."

He rose a bone brow at them, and before he could ask how that made any sense, Edge spoke up.

"WE WANTED TO CONGRATULATE YOU."

He couldn’t hide the shock on his face even if he tried. They wanted to...congratulate him? For what?

"they told us that you got the promotion you’ve been hoping for awhile now. th-that’s really cool!"

"AGREED, A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT EARNED BY AN EXCELLENT SHOW OF SKILL AND HARDWORK!"

Papyrus furrowed his brow bones and looked at them, unamused and in disbelief. Did they just...did they just come here to kiss up to him? Did they really expect that to work?

"Thanks," he said with little to no emotion in his voice. He wasn’t going to let them off easy. Not again. They weren’t going to take advantage of his kind, forgiving nature. He was done with that.

He was about to close the door but Edge stopped it with his own hand. He glared more intensely at Edge, who avoided his gaze for a moment before he looked back with a surprise amount of determination in them.

"THAT’S NOT ALL WE WANT TO SAY."

"I’ve heard enough."

"p-papyrus-"

"What will it take for you two to leave me alone?" Papyrus said in exasperation and let go of the door. He folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. Edge let go of the door and opened his mouth but nothing came out. He just stood there with his mouth opening and closing, struggling to say something, anything, but still nothing.

Slim started twiddling his fingers as he looked at him nervously. "papyrus, it’s been a month-"

"And what a wonderful month it’s been." He said without thinking and as soon as those words escaped him, he immediately felt his soul drop in his non-existent stomach. He didn’t mean to say it like that. He meant it but he didn’t mean to say it like...

Like a jerk.

Bile was starting to form in his in his mouth but he quickly swallowed and averted his eye sockets from them. As soon as he said those words, the look on Edge’s and Slim’s face was just heartbreaking. He unfolded his arms and clenched them, shaking and mentally telling himself to just shut the door.

He didn’t want to see them anymore.

He didn’t want to hear what they had to say anymore.

He wanted them to leave before he made things worse.

He didn’t want to care about them anymore.

This was for the best.

For him.

No matter how much he hated it.

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling the pinpricks of tears starting to form in there, and quickly grabbed the doorknob. He pulled back a bit before slamming the door shut and locking it. His soul felt heavy against his ribcage. His body shook violently and bile forming in his mouth again.

He felt sick.

He felt so sick.

How could he have said such awful things to them? Why couldn’t he hear them out?

A sudden snap of magic startled him and as he turned around, he felt his soul pound furiously in a panic.

It was Edge and Slim.

Why? Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He didn’t want anything to do with them anymore. It was for the best. This was all for the best!

For him.

For them.

For every-

He dropped to his knees and puked. He heard Edge and Slim gasp, and as he breathed heavily and coughed up the last few drops of what was left of his breakfast, he looked up to see nothing but worry and fear etched in their faces.

And he hated it.

He didn’t deserve that.

He didn’t deserve them.

And that was the last thought he had before his head hit the floor right by his vomit.

* * *

 He woke up with a throbbing headache with an awful taste in his mouth that almost made him gag. Papyrus groaned and his eye sockets fluttered open to see a familiar pair of faces. Edge and Slim looked at him in surprise before they sighed in relief. Their relieved faces quickly turned into one of guilt and sadness. Papyrus rubbed his eye sockets and lifted himself up a little before being stopped by Slim, who gently pushed him back into laying down on his bed.

"please, you’re not feeling well. just get some rest, okay?" he said in a soft, almost pleading tone.

Papyrus didn’t argue with that. He wanted to but he couldn’t deny how awful he felt. The side of his head hurt, his mouth tasted like he’d eaten something bitter, and his soul...

Oh, how his soul ached with such sorrow and self-loathing.

He felt a pair of hands gently hold his right hand, rubbing small circles on them. He looked at his hand and then the owner of the hands that warmed up his own. It was Edge, who looked conflicted on what emotion he felt like expressing at the moment. Edge quickly looked at their hands, before looking away and finding the carpeted floor more interesting. Papyrus felt the pair of hands tightening against his own.

“I’M ONLY GOING TO LET GO OF YOUR HAND IF YOU DO AS SLIM SAYS. I DON’T CARE IF THIS DISGUSTS YOU, I’M NOT LETTING YOU GO UNTIL I KNOW YOU’RE FEELING BETTER.”

Papyrus blinked at him in surprise, ”Disgust me?”

Edge glanced at him for a moment before looking back down again. “JUST OUR APPEARANCE ALONE MAKES YOU WANT TO VOMIT.”

Papyrus’ eye sockets widened in shock and before he could even speak, another pair of hands wrapped around his left hand. He looked at Slim, who’s face also looked as conflicted as Edge’s. Slim squeezed his hand before closing his eyes tightly.

“we didn’t...we didn’t mean to make you sick, papyrus. we...if we knew we made you feel that way, we wouldn’t have...” Slim trailed off, gulping and and taking in a shaky breath and letting it go slowly.

“WE WOULD’VE TAKEN THE HINT.” Edge said, seeing how conflicted Slim looked when trying to find the right words, or not being able to say them.

Papyrus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Were they serious? No. No, this had to be some kind of nightmare. It was some sort of sick nightmare. He must still be unconscious right?

Right?

”Owwie!”

Nope, he was conscious. And now the back of his head was staring to throb. Great.

”p-papyrus! why did you do that?” Slim said loudly in worry.

He supposed he could’ve just pinched himself instead of banging the back of his head against the bedboard but...

”HAVE WE MADE YOU MAD TOO?”

Edge’s and Slim’s hands felt so nice and warm. He didn’t want to let go of their hands. He didn’t want to let them go. He missed them. He missed them for a whole month. He missed them ever since he made his decision.

His stupid, selfish decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> carolc24- I like to think Red and Razz are very cunning when they work together. At odds sometimes, but they work it out.
> 
> DominionHiyokiHanatsuki- Papyrus accept your hugs wholeheartedly! Edge and Slim, however, feel conflicted. They want to accept your mercy but don’t know how to feel about being called miscreants soooo....Choose-> ♡Act -> Thumbs up(?)  
> *They also warn you to never call them miscreants unless they’ve actually broken the law, which they haven’t...as far as you know.
> 
> Dragonsrule18- It was about time they made up! Fell-verse characters can be so stubborn sometimes.
> 
> Thanks to all who read, comment, and give out kudos to this story.
> 
> Also, if there are any tags that you feel that this story should have, such as warnings and such, please feel free to say so in the comments below.


End file.
